Can transit in Wake County be successful? For those that say no, we urge you to look at recent reports of growth in bus ridership in the county and train ridership across the state.
Ridership of buses in Eastern Wake has seen an unprecedented rise in the last year with double digit percentage growth along multiple routes. The arguement that transit is not a viable alternative to vehicles in low density population centers like Eastern Wake seems to be failing. As gas prices rise and transit planners find new ways to make buses accessible and convenient, more and more citizens are turning to transit. Unfortunately an expansion of bus service hours to Eastern Wake will only come through the Wake Transit Plan, which the Wake County Board of Commissioners have failed to take action on. Read the Eastern Wake News article to learn all the details of bus ridership growth in Eastern Wake.
But Eastern Wake isn’t the only area bus ridership is gaining momentum. Trianlge Transit has seen a 22.8% increase in overall bus ridership setting a record for both the number of riders and the growth of ridership! Read the N&O article to learn about the specific increases in bus ridership in the region and other areas of the state.
Not only has bus in the region seen unprecedented growth in ridership, but the Amtrak route between Charlotte and Raleigh had a larger percentage of ridership growth than any other Amtrak route in the nation with 16.2% more passengers than used the same route last year. Check out the WRAL story about this jump in ridership on the Piedmont route. The Piedmont route is having exceptional growth in a year of exceptional growth of rail ridership nation-wide. According to a recent AP Article, this year saw the largest number of Amtrak riders in history for the nation, proving that rail is an attractive option for people.